The Cui family of Qinghe is a long-established clan, but the current Chen dynasty was established with the assistance of the Xie family of Chenliu. Although some members of the Cui family are now officials in the court, they are not given important positions because Yuwen Wuji borrowed people from the Cui family when he attacked Jingzhou.
At that time, the situation was unclear, and the Cui family refused Yuwen Wuji's offer, citing their desire to remain neutral. Yuwen Wuji was always a vengeful person; after ascending the throne, he forbade his subordinates from giving important positions to members of the Cui family and secretly removed several Cui family members from the ranks of successful candidates in the imperial examinations. As a result, the Xie family became dominant, holding absolute power and becoming a major threat to Yuwen Wuji.
"Is the Cui family trying to rise to power through underhanded means?" Xie Mingyue couldn't help but sigh upon hearing this. "But there's nothing they can do; the emperor has blocked the righteous path."
"If Cui Yan really marries Princess Yongle, he might be able to assist Prince Xuan in ascending the throne in the future. Prince Xuan has no sons, and by the time he becomes emperor, it will be too late. If the Cui family were to kill an emperor and install an empress, using the emperor to command the feudal lords, that would be wonderful!"
The more Xie Mingyue talked, the more she felt that this road was a broad and promising one. Prince Xuan was much easier to deal with than that scoundrel Yuwen Wuji. She couldn't help but say with regret, "If I had known this would happen, Brother Li, you should have married Princess Yongle instead."
After he finished speaking, he received glares from everyone in the Xie family.
"It's possible that the Cui family did indeed have such intentions, which is why they allowed Cui Yan to get close to the princess."
“But Cui Yan’s looks are quite average.” Xie Mingyue touched her face. “I’m much more handsome than him.”
“They’re young.” Xie Lu rolled his eyes at him. “You’re old enough to be a princess’s father.”
......
"Let someone keep an eye on Cui Yan and see what he's up to."
Meanwhile, Bai Sanyuan was hosting a dinner for his friends at Changkeju Restaurant. He booked a large private room on the third floor, ordered signature dishes and the best wines, showing his guests great respect.
Bai Sanyuan attended several such dinners because he was handsome, dressed in fine clothes, and possessed the refined manners of a scholar. He introduced himself as a student from the north, currently torn between Yushan Academy and Shangbei Academy, and was generous with his money, quickly becoming friends with the students at Yushan Academy.
Given his status, he shouldn't know anyone from Yushan Academy, but a friend of a friend is a friend, and after a good meal, everyone is like brothers from different fathers and mothers!
"I've heard there are members of the Cui family from Qinghe in the academy? I greatly admire them. Why don't you bring them along for the next gathering?"
"Oh! You mean Cui Yan? He's a bookworm. All he does is study and visit his mother! He probably won't come."
"Why don't you ask him? We don't usually call him, so we don't know if he'll come."
"Oh dear, it's rare for Brother Bai to speak up. Even if we have to tie him up, we'll bring him here!"
Bai Sanyuan, who was actually older than them, pretended to be their younger brother for several days before finally meeting the Cui family member. After hosting several more banquets, he reported the information he had gathered to Song Yaozhu.
"Cui Yan's father is a secretary in the Ministry of War's Treasury Department, a real post. Cui Yan himself is not interested in women and has been betrothed since childhood. He has a mediocre reputation among the students. Because he is low-key and rarely interacts with others, not many people really know him."
Hearing this, Song Yaozhu felt even more that Cui Yan was unfathomable.
Few of his classmates knew much about him; either he was aloof and not good at socializing, or he deliberately kept his distance from others.
The fact that he was able to get close to Yongle so easily shows that he is quite good at ingratiating himself with people.
"You can continue to eat and drink with them and build good relationships. There's nothing else you need to do for now," Song Yaozhu said, then had Caiyin fetch some silver notes for him.
After seeing the person off, Caiyin touched her purse with a touch of heartache.
"Your Highness, is it really worth spending so much money? It doesn't seem worth it."
"Silly girl, why should I bother with things that can be solved with money?"
Another month passed, and in mid-October, Madam Song invited Song Yaozhu back for dinner. Because Consort Song's pregnancy was stable, gifts from the palace were sent in a steady stream, which made the Song family very proud.
Song Yaozhu took Xie Liwei to a banquet, and suddenly asked Xie Liwei, "I heard that Song Qingyuan's marriage is settled, and you introduced the woman?"
Since Song Qingyuan's incident, his reputation has been utterly ruined. His wife, Wang Zhiyue, suffered a miscarriage and they divorced because of his beatings. No family in the capital with any standing is willing to marry into his family.
Xie Liwei touched his nose and said, "After all, he is my brother-in-law. As his brother-in-law, I have to do my part."
Song Yaozhu gave a soft snort, and seeing his sly smile, she smiled too.
"Tell me, who did you introduce?"
"You'll know when you see it," Xie Liwei said mysteriously.
When they arrived at the Song family residence, Grand Tutor Song looked very well. He sat in the main seat, appearing as kind as an old man.
Song Yaozhu stood at the entrance of the lobby, looked up, and then looked down.
"Yaoyao, why are you standing at the door? Come in quickly!" Lin excitedly reached out to pull Song Yaozhu's arm, but Song Yaozhu remained standing still. Lin looked at her rather awkwardly. "Yaoyao, what's wrong?"
"National law and family rules, national law comes first, family rules come second. When the prince arrives, don't you all need to pay your respects?" Song Yaozhu felt that the Song family members all had some problems with their brains, otherwise they wouldn't have done such a stupid thing as making their own daughter marry in place of them.
"Oh! What are you saying, niece? Once you're in this family, we're all family. Family members talk about seniority, not status!"
......
Song Yaozhu turned to look at Xie Liwei, who turned to her and asked, "Would you like to eat the braised pork knuckle from Changkeju again?"
"think."
The two turned around, went out, got into the carriage, and went to their usual lodging.
Enraged, Grand Tutor Song slammed his fist on the table, berated Song Yaozhu for being unfilial, and ordered that Song Yaozhu be forbidden from entering the house again, as if she had never been a granddaughter!
He originally intended to deflate Xie Liwei's arrogance, after all, he was a first-rank Grand Tutor and the teacher of the princes! Moreover, he was Xie Liwei's elder, so it was natural for him not to bow. He tacitly approved of the younger generation wanting to take advantage of his power to show off their seniority.
Who would have thought that this couple didn't care about filial piety at all, and didn't even care about saving face!
"I will impeach the Carefree Prince tomorrow for his disrespect towards his elders!"
After Song Yaozhu finished eating half a braised pork knuckle, she saw Qin Yu dust off his sleeves and come in, saying, "The matter is settled."
Today, at the Song family's banquet, Song Yaozhu had some singers and dancers summoned from brothels to perform in the mansion. Such things often happened in large families, but the Song family always prided themselves on being upright and honest, so doing something like this would inevitably lead to impeachment by the censors.
"I gave the gatekeeper some silver, saying it was an apology from the prince, and let him in. Who knew that Madam Song was crying in the main hall, which annoyed Master Song, and he immediately took action."
Song Yaozhu paused, her hand holding the food in her chopsticks froze, and asked incredulously, "He did it?"
"Master Song only threw a cup, but it scared Madam Song so much that she fainted." Qin Yu touched his nose awkwardly. "I don't know what those courtesans said after leaving the manor, but now everyone outside is saying that Master Song laid a hand on Madam Song."
Actually, it was something he arranged on purpose, but seeing the princess's reaction, it's better to let someone else take the blame first.
"That's enough." Song Yaozhu put down her chopsticks. "Arrange for the censor to impeach him tomorrow."
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